Can opening arrangement



June 20, 1961 G. L.. CHANDLER, .JR 2,989,210

CAN OPENING ARRANGEMENT Filed May 25, 1960 INVENToR.

Geog@ L. '/M/zd/er, fr.

y AM

HTTOPA/EY 2,989,210 CAN OPENING ARRANGEMENT George L. Chandler, Jr., 461 Princeton Ave., Metedeconk, NJ. Filed May 23, 1960, Ser. No. 30,847 2 Claims. (Cl. 220-54) This invention relates to a can opening arrangement and, more particularly, to means associated with a conventional tear strip which is used with a key to facilitate the opening of a can.

It has been found in practice that, when a conventional tear strip of a metal can is wound up on the shaft of a are and 3, there is shown a metal can 11 which may be of conventional type, comprising a cylindrical Ibody portion y 12 closed at the bottom (not shown) and a generally circular'top 13. The edge` of the top 1'3` is shown bent to form a downwardly opening channel 1 4 clamped or;

p otherwiseV secured tightly to the top edge of the body conventional key, in the slot of which the free end portion of said tear strip has been inserted prior to turning of the key, after a few turns the roll of metal is apt to slide one way or the other with respect to itself and the unwound portion of the strip, to thereby interfere with the continued winding of the strip to remove the top of the can and possibly result in breaking the strip before the can is completely opened.

In accordance with the present invention, this is obviated by the use of an auxiliary winding strip to keep the `wound up tear strip in line and prevent it from skewing away from the bundle formed as the stripV is wound up.

An object of my invention is to facilitate opening of cans which are provided with tear strips by insuring that such tear strips, when wound up, do not run off the coil so formed and get tangled up so as to make it impossible to continue the winding.

Another object of my invention is to provide an auxiliary winding strip, normally overlying the tear strip before it is removed from a can, so positioned that it will be wound up with the tear strip, and not only form a bigger bundle, but prevent the bundle from running off to one side or the other and the strip getting tangled during the process of winding.

A further object of my invention is to provide, in a conventional can with a conventional tear strip having a free end portion, an auxiliary winding strip of a width and thickness greater than that of, and overlying, the tear strip, releaseably secured to the can, positioned near but in spaced relation to said free end portion, and so constructed that when said free end portion is placed in the slot in the shaft of a conventional key, said auxiliary strip will be picked up and wound by the key with said tear strip, to thereby prevent the latter from running off a roll thereof as the key shaft is rotated.

These and other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following detailed description when taken with the accompanying drawings. It will be understood that the drawings are for purposes of illustration and do not dene the scope or limits of the invention, reference being had for the latter purpose to the appended claims.

In the drawings, wherein like reference characters denote like parts in the several views:

FIGURE l is a side elevational view of the top portion of a can showing the tear strip thereof and embodying my invention.

FIGURE 2 is a vertical sectional view on the line 2-2 of FIGURE l, in the direction of the arrows, and to a larger scale.

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view to the scale of FIG- URE 1, showing the position of the parts when the tear strip has been partially removed from the can.

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary elevational view, corresponding to FIGURE l but showing a modification.

Referring to the drawings in detail, and first considering the embodiment of my invention in FIGURES l, 2

portion 12. The upper portion of the cylindrical body 12 has lines designated, respectively, 15 and 16, along which the metal isv weakened and which provide a tear strip 17 therebetween, terminating in a pointed free endy portion 18.

This weakened portion of the cylindrical body 12- ofv the can and the tear strip `17 are `internally covered byv a cylindrical band of metal 19, extending from just below the top 13 of the can, where it is desirably rounded as indicated at 21. Its lower edge portion 22, is desirably turned out linto an outer corrugation 23 formed in the side wall of thecan 12. Any aperture left in the can 11 by providing the free end portion 18 of the tear strip 17, is thereby covered.

If the end portion 18 of the Winding strip were insertedin the conventional slot. in the shaft of a can-opening key 24 of normall form, said slot not being shown in` FIGURE 3 because it is inside a coil which has been'l wound up, it would tend to, and frequently does in prac# tice, not run true, but turn to one side or the other during winding and make it impossible to continue the winding, with possible breakage of the strip before the cover of the can is completely removed.

To overcome this diculty, I provide an auxiliary winding strip 25, desirably wider than the tear strip 17 and releasably secured thereover and to the can therebeyond, in the position generally indicated in FIGURE l, by means of a suitable adhesive or the like, to thereby be removable from the can without too much trouble during the winding operation. This auxiliary winding strip may be made of suitable material, such as paper, fiber, plastic or metal, and is desirably slightly thicker than the metal of the can, as indicated in FIGURE 2. The end 26 next the free end 18 of the tear strip is positioned intermediate the ends of the tear strip and close enough to said free end so that there is no danger of the roll getting skewed prior to picking up the auxiliary strip 25.

In operation, the key 24 is freed, as from a conventional connection with the can 11 with provision for easy detachment therefrom, and the free end portion 18 of the tear strip 17 is inserted in the conventional slot of said key. Said slot is not visible in FIGURE 3, 4as it is there covered by the wound portions of the tear strip and auxiliary winding strip 26. The key is then turned to roll the tear strip 17 toward the auxiliary winding strip 26. Upon reaching the end 26, the auxiliary strip 25 starts to Wind with the tear strip 17 until it is completely wound up therewith, producing not only a bundle or coil of greater diameter than usual, but one of greater axial length, whereby there is little or no danger that the tear strip will run beyond the upper or lower edge of the auxiliary strip 25.

If du-ring winding, such a tendency is seen, the operator can avoid skewing by suitable turning of the key, and, having greater leeway because of greater extent, readily avoid the tear strip running off from the roll or coil. Should an edge of the tear strip 17 starrt to run off the coil, said edge will strike the auxiliary strip 25 and be deflected back to the coil.

In FIGURE 2, it will be seen that after the tear strip 17 has been entirely removed, there is left a lid 13 on which the upper edge portion of the can above the tear strip forms a depending peripheral ange. As said flange overlies or encircles the upper edge portion of the band 19, a lid is formed which is removable from and reap- 3 plicable to the can after being cut therefrom by removal of the tear strip 17.

Referring now to the embodiment of my invention illustrated in FIGURE 4, there is shown a can 11 having a cylindrical body portion 12', corresponding with that of the can 11 of the preceding embodiment. In this instance, everything is identical with the first embodiment except that the auxiliary winding strip 25', instead of being imperforate as in the rst embodiment, has a slot 28. Said slot desirably terminates a relatively greater distance from the end 26', which lies near the free end, not shown, of the tear strip 17', with its other end eX- tending to relatively close to the other end of said auxiliary winding strip 25. The slot 28 is shown in approximate register with the portion of the tear strip `17 therebeneath and of nearly the same width as said tear strip, although possibly slightly wider as illustrated.

The operation of this embodiment of my invention is similar to that of the first embodiment, except that upon reaching the slot 28, the turns of the tear strip tend to lodge therein and thereby additionally facilitate the winding of said tear strip 17', by possibly further aiding in preventing it from departing from a true course and running o the edge of the bundle as it is formed.

I claim:

1. A metal can with a tear strip having a free end portion for reception in the slot in the shaft of a canopening key of conventional form, an auxiliary flexible winding strip, of a width greater than that of the tear strip, overlying said tear strip intermediate the ends of the tear strip, releasably secured to said can, positioned and so constructed that, when said free end portion is placed in the key slot, said auxiliary strip will be picked up and wound by said key with said tear strip, to thereby prevent the tear strip from running off a roll thereof as the key is rotated.

2. The combination with a metal can having a tear strip with a free end portion for reception in the slot in the shaft of a can-opening key of conventional form, of an auxiliary flexible winding strip of substantial length, of a width substantially greater than the width of the tear strip and releasably secured to the can in overlying relation to a portion ofthe tear strip intermediate the ends of the tear strip, the auxiliary winding strip having therein a slot of a width corresponding generally with that of the tear strip and approximately registering therewith, said slot extending from a distance relatively remote from the end of said `auxiliary strip adjacent the free end portion of the tear strip to a position near the opposite end of said auxiliary strip.

Great Britain Apr. 29, 1920 Great Britain Apr. 4, 1928 

